Posted 12 December 2013

Tales of Zestiria is coming to PS3

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Hello again everyone. My name is Hideo Baba from Namco Bandai Studios Inc. and I am the producer for the Tales Of series from Namco Bandai Games Inc. As some of you know from previous posts, I like to step in from time to time and deliver great news to our fans on the PlayStation Blog. Today is one of those special days!

I am very proud to announce that Tales of Zestiria, the newest installment and 20th Japanese anniversary commemorative title for the Tales Of franchise, will be released throughout North America, South America, and Europe for the PlayStation 3 system! This is a huge moment for Namco Bandai Games and the Tales Of team in particular as it is the first time we have simultaneously announced the game for both Japan and Western countries.

There’s not much else to say about Tales of Zestiria right now, so please stay tuned for more information in the future.

In the meantime, we do have two other great Tales Of games coming out in North America and Europe to keep fans excited throughout next year. Tales of Symphonia Chronicles will be available on 28th February 2014 for PlayStation 3, and features both Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World with new HD graphics and new content for European fans, including new outfits, Mystic Arte cut-ins, titles, unison attacks and techniques. It will also be the first time that a Tales Of game features both an English and Japanese audio track.

Tales of Xillia 2 will also be out across Western territories next year for the PlayStation 3 system as well. It is the sequel to this year’s Tales of Xillia and focuses on two brand new characters; Ludger Kresnik and Elle Marta.

One of the defining themes of the game is “choice” and players will be able to speak through Ludger by the choices that they make throughout the game. And since this title takes place in the same world as Tales of Xillia, expect to see plenty of your favorite characters returning to help Ludger and Elle on their journey. We’ll have plenty more to talk about for this title in the coming months.

The Tales Of team has been working hard to strengthen our relationship with overseas fans over the past few years and have seen the fruits of our labour with the success of Tales of Xillia which has sold over a million copies worldwide. The Tales Of team would like to thank all of the fans around the world for their continued support and extend a warm welcome to new fans to the series as well.

Wow, I just finished Tales of Graces about a month ago, and was planning to pick up another “Tales of…” game eventually, but I didn’t really know which one. It was either going to be Tales of Symphonia Chronicles or Tales of Xillia (1), but now you say I have to choose between not two, but three games (Zesteria), and eventually a fourth (Xillia 2)?

I’ll still probably get either Xillia or Symphonia Chronicles as a start.

I never played the Tales games yet. Lol. They look really good tho. So I’d like to play from the start and work my way up to the newer version with the PS3 games. What specific order should I play them in? I heard people mention Tales of grace f. Is this a good start? What will come next after that all the way up to this one?

You know what would be even more brilliant news…localising both vita games Tales of Innocence R and Tales of Hearts R for the EU.

Please, seriously please bring these to the western market, vita needs good games and whilst I’m begging for Namco Bandai released games please could we get the vita version of One Piece Pirate Warriors 2?

@hayzink: I think Xillia makes for a good jumping in point for anyone who hasn’t played before, most of the Tales game are standalone but personally I think Xillia is one of the best in the series so far.

Great, great news heard about Zestiria but only hoped we’dgetit in the EU. Cant wait first Xillia 2 then maybe I’ll actually finish Symphonia Dawn of New World, didnt beat it on Wii Emil is no Lloyd but I will buy any and every Tales Of game released in europe fav RPG series by far.

Now hook up the Vita with the R releases in Europe and maybe some more Tales of World, heck bring Vs and Twin Bravest while you’re at it, just digitally would be fine if needed.

I watched the nico nico feed and was very happy to see the look of it. The character design feels more like old school JRPGs that I miss.I hope we wont have to wait forever for this one. A definite buy from me.

i really wish i could play at least one of those Vita games. just because they didnt sell much in Japan doesnt mean they wouldnt outside, we never got the DS versions either.At least digital releases would be nice =(

@dark_angel69There ist paricular order in which you should play (Xillia 2 is not out for the western players so that dosn’t count). But just with the PS3 i would say Graces F, then Xillia 1, then Symphonia HD (when it releases) and after that Xillia 2 (also when that releases). For Xillia you dont need to wait because maybe you think you will forget something from the first entry, but to ensure, there are clips in Xillia 2 which wrap up the story of the first game.

But it is not false to play the game first which picks your interest the most. Since some features from the gameplay get removed, altered or are added.

Fantastic! I loved Symphonia years ago, but due to not owning certain platforms and Symphonia 2 being somewhat weak, I lost interest in the series. Xillia has been very enjoyable for me though, and Xillia 2 looks even better. This being a worldwide release coupled with Xillia being so enjoyable has really invigorated my enjoyment of the series.

Would absolutely love to see the Vita games come over too, but it’s nice to see immediate announcement for bringing the games over here for any of them too.

@28They’re fun JRPGs with real time combat that take inspiration from fighting games like Street Fighter in terms of how combos and chaining moves work. Look up some gameplay videos.

@dark_angel69Like Final Fantasy every Entry in the Series features its own world, story, characters,… The only thing consistent in the series, since its move to the 3D era, are the realtime Battles. The Tales of- Franchise is known for its fast paced combat.

To the comment of PHEEliNUX i would add, that you can play a sequel (Xillia 2 oder Symphony: Dawn of the new world) without playing the prequel. Since both games playing mostly in new enviroments and have new main heroes/heroins. But most of the sidequest will focus on the events and characters from the first entry so your experience is not 100% but still an enyoable one.

@aealexandrouDepends on your prefences. Generally i would say they are good games (70%-90%, depending on game and own preferences). No one is a milestone in JRPG history but i would still blindly recommend the series to JRPG Fans who want a faster combat style, instead of the turn-based.

And also it allwos a good couch-coop experience with max. 4 players. But i recommend to play it with one, because your friends can only do something while there is combat. Out of the combat the 1P moves around and does stuff. But the cool is here that your friend can look up some secrets or certain boss tactics on the internet while you do your job. Couch-Coop enhanced, in my opinion.

@PHEEliNUXI just played Symphonia: Dawn of the New World but not the original. But i played Xillia 1 and 2 (i still need to play it in the translated version) and i feel that with some changes to the strting situation considering world and events before you can change these storys, so that the sequel stands as an own entry in the frenchise. But still it is recommended to play the prequel.

After all, that is the porpuse of a sequel, to expand the experience from the predecessor. :P

Can’t wait for this to be released so I can add it to my collection. I managed to snag a brand new unopened copy of Tales of Xillia Collector’s Edition myself a few days ago for a reasonable price at long last

Baba-San have in mind that some hardcore JRPG fans don’t support games w/o dual audio I hope Tales of Symphonia Chronicles will not be the first & the last one with dual audio & if that’s the case don’t blame those who play the UNDUB versions not their fault.